San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy is the newest name on the team's injury report to start Week 8. Purdy has entered the league's concussion protocol with the Cincinnati Bengals headed to Levi's® Stadium for a Sunday afternoon game.
Per head coach Kyle Shanahan, the second-year signal caller began experiencing symptoms on the flight back from Minneapolis following the 49ers 22-17 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
"I found that out when we landed," Shanahan said. "He got checked up Tuesday, and now, he's in the protocol."
At this point, it's unclear on which play of the team's Week 7 matchup Purdy suffered the concussion. He played all four quarters against the Vikings, connecting on 21-of-30 pass attempts for 272 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the 49ers second loss of the season.
According to the head coach, Purdy will be listed as a non-participant for Wednesday's practice, however, since San Francisco has a walk-through slated for its first session of the week, Purdy is allowed to be present for the walk-through.
There is no set timeframe for players to be medically cleared for game action. Athletes must progress through a five-phase protocol agreed upon by the NFL and NFLPA that can vary from person-to-person.
"He does have enough time," Shanahan said. "He's got to go through the process."
Purdy's injury comes on a short week, and should the sophomore quarterback not clear protocols in time for Sunday's matchup, the team will look to sixth-year pro Sam Darnold to start against the Bengals.
"I have as much confidence in Sam as I could have with someone that I haven't gone into a real NFL game with," Shanahan said. "He was great in the offseason. He's been great in these seven weeks so far. He's always ready to go. He's great in the meetings. He doesn't get many reps - no backups do. He does well in the scout teams."
Darnold signed with San Francisco in the offseason and saw action in all three of the 49ers preseason contests. His best statistical showing came against the Los Angeles Chargers. Darnold connected on 6-of-11 pass attempts for 89 yards, a touchdown and a 111.6 passer rating.
Over the course of his NFL career, Darnold has appeared in 60 games (55 starts) and completed 1,055-of-1,766 passing attempts for 11,768 yards, 61 touchdowns to go along with 193 carries for 740 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
